After 988 Hotline Launched, Fewer Suicides Than Projected

Nearly 4,400 fewer US teens and young adults died by suicide than projected in the first two-and-a-half years of the 988 mental health crisis hotline, a sign the program is working even as it faces long-term funding challenges, the AP reports. Suicide deaths among 15- to 23-year-olds were 11% lower than what researchers expected between July 2022—when the lifeline launched—and December 2024, researchers wrote in a study published Wednesday in JAMA. "The 988 program is one of the largest federal investments in suicide prevention in US history—roughly $1.5 billion cumulative—and our findings suggest that investment has translated into measurable reductions in young adult suicide deaths," said Dr. Vishal Patel, a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School and the paper's lead author.

The researchers used nationwide death certificate records from 1999 to 2022 to model what the suicide mortality would have been had the 988 line not launched. They then compared the estimates to the actual number of deaths. The researchers can't say for certain that 988 was the sole cause of the decline, and the US suicide rate is down overall. But they ran several other comparisons to "gut check" their overall findings, Patel said. They found the 10 states that had the largest increases in call volumes following the launch of 988 also saw significantly larger gaps in expected vs. actual suicide deaths. The reductions were also greater in younger people than people older than 65, who are less likely to use the lifeline. And they saw no similar changes when looking at suicide deaths in England, where no comparable lifeline existed during the study period.

The results are in line with previous research. "Studies show that after speaking with a trained crisis counselor, most people who contact the 988 Lifeline are significantly more likely to feel less depressed, less suicidal, less overwhelmed, and more hopeful," a spokesperson for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which funds the hotline, said in response to the study. But experts say the overall patchwork of federal and state funding for call centers remains insufficient to meet the true level of need. (If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988.)